Knife-machine.



I. A. HILL.

KNIFE MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE I9, 19!?- 1,257,232. I 'Patented Feb. 19, 1918 IrwcnEW? Jse h Elder! Fizz. 39 M v M oZabrlze ys,

JOSEPH ALBERT HILL, 0]? SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND.

KNIFE-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 19, 1918.

Application filed June 19, 1917. Serial No. 175,671.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH ALBERT HILL, a subject of the King of England, residing in Sheflield, in the county of York, England, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Knife-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to knife-machines and is particularly applicable to machines for sharpening knives although it can be applied to knifecleaners.

The present invention has reference to the means for supporting knives of different lengths in a machine of the type wherein the blade to be sharpened is supported on a reciprocating carrier operated by a crankpin on a wheel which is rotated by the driving means of the machine. The carrier moves the blade backward and forward between opposed sharpening-disks which are rotated by the same driving means, and by c the reciprocations of the carrier the whole length of the blade is brought into contact with the abrading surfaces of the disks.

For the purpose of this invention, a machine such as described above is provided with a variable-throw device which does not itself form part of the invention as it is a well-known mechanism. This device comprises a disk which is mounted concentrically with the crank-pin wheel for reciprocating the blade-carrier. This disk is angularly adjustable relatively to the crank-pin wheel and the crank-pin is mounted in a radial slot in the wheel and has a foot which extends into a cam-groove on the disk. Means are provided for locking the disk to the wheel in different angular positions so as to vary the throw of the reciprocating carrier according to the length of the knifeblade which is to be sharpened.

According to the present invention, a knife-machine of the type described and having a crank-pin wheel with a variablethrow crank as described, is provided with an adjustable limiting-stop on the knife-carriage, which stop engages the end of the knife to situate lengthwise on the carriage, for the purpose of bringing knives of different lengths to a central position thereon so that once the stop is adjusted for any given length of knife, all knives of such length can be immediately brought to such position on the carrier with the consequent proper adjustment of the throw, and the whole length of the edge will be brought into contact with the sharpening disks Without the ends being at any time entirely withdrawn from the same durlng the sharpen Fig. 5 is a section through the crank-pin wheel and the parts immediately associated therewith.

The same letters indicate the same parts throughout the drawings.

The machine is provided with two pairs of disks A, A though in Fig. 1 only one disk of each pair is shown and these are not illustrated in Fig. 2 in order that con fusion might be avoided, but it will be ap preciated that there would be two disks A placed edge-to-edge and two disks A placed edge-to-edge and co-aXially alined with the corresponding disks A, both pairs of disks being driven from the operating handle of the whole machine. I

To adaptthe carriage to receive knives instead of safety-razor blades, a table B is mounted on the guide-plate B and on the table is a clip 13 into which the blade of the knife to be sharpened is pressed; the table B, guide B and clip B thus constitute the carriage for the knives to be sharpened. Conveniently the table is adjustable vertically relatively to the guide B by means of arms 13 secured by thumb-nuts B The end of the guide B has a vertical extension B which is slotted at B to receive a crank-pin C. The crank-pin instead of being fixed is free to move in aradial slot D provided in the carrying-wheel D. The

' pin C is shouldered at C to prevent it from passing through the slot D and is secured in place by a screw 0 which enters the back of the pin and has a washer C under its head to prevent the pin from being drawn forward out of the slot D The wheelD is made fast on a spindle E which is rotatably mounted in a supporting-arm E and free on the spindle, and

thus mounted concentrically with the wheel D is a disk F. The disk F is provided with a cam-groove F on that face which is toward the wheel D, which cam-groove receives the head of the screw C The disk has a milled edge so that it can be easily turned by the fingers, and on that side which faces away from the wheel D it is provided with a series of recesses F which engage a detent G. The detent is secured in any convenient manner to the spindle E and is made of resilient material. It has a projection G on that face which is toward the disk F, so that when the disk is turned to bring any one of the recesses F opposite this projection, the projection springs into the recess and the detent thus locks the cam disk against accidental displacement relatively to the wheel D although it does not prevent hand-adjustment,

At one end of the tablc B is a limitingstop H in the form of a right-angled plate, one side of which lies flush upon the table B and the other side projects vertically therefrom. The stop is carried in guides H so that it can slide endwise along the table, and beneath the table is fixed a spring detent H The under-side of the stop is provided with a series of recesses H and the projection of the detent H extends through the table so that it can enter any one of these recesses; when brought opposite it. The stop has a finger-piece H whereby it can he slid backward and forwardthrough the guides H The stop H is provided with a series of indicating-points numbered l5 which correspond to the recesses F on the disk F which are also numbered l5.

The operation of this carriage is as follows If the knife is the full length the machine is intended to take, as is supposed in the case shown in the drawings, the stop H is moved back as far as it will go so that theindication marked 1 appears at the side of the guide H and the disk F is turned to bring the recess marked 1 under the detent G. A knife is then put in place in the clip B and its end butted against the stop H. With the parts so arranged, it will be found that when the handle of the machine is turned, the knife will be so reciprocated that the whole length of its edge is brought into contact with the sharpeningdisks A, A without the ends leaving the disks during sharpening. If the ends were to leave the disks during sharpening there is a tendency for them to strike against the disks and so damage the machine or throw the knife out of the clip. For a shorter knife. the stop H is advanced to such position that'it butts againstthe end of the blade when the shorter knife is placed on the can riage with the clip in mid position along the length of the knife, and then the disk F is turned to bring the recess F 2 under the detent G whose number corresponds with the number which will then appear on the stop H at the side of the guide H Ii here several lengths of knives are used, it soon becomes known to the operator which numbers correspond to the different lengths and thus adjustment can be made immediately and once this adjustment is effected for any length of knife, each knife of that length has only to be thrust in until it butts against the stop, when all the partswill be in proper position for sharpening.

What 1 claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In knife-machine, the combination of, a carrier having spring jaws to engage the blade of a knife by its sides, guides for the carrier to permit it to slide inithe lengthwise direction of the knife, a variable-throw crank for reciprocating the carrieralong the guides, means for setting the throw of the crank to suit the length of knife to be operated upon, and an adjustable limitingstop on the knife-carriage so situated as to engage the end of the knife when pushed into the carriage, thus to situate itlengthwise on the carriage, a rotary tool mounted so that its periphery bears against -the side of the blade and at the edge thereof during the whole of its reciprocating movements with the carrier, and means operatively con necting the carrier and tool so that the tool continuously rotates against the blade as the carrier reciproates upon its guides, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In a knife-machine, the combination of, a carrier having spring jaws to engage the blade of a knife by its sides, guides for the carrier to permit itto slide in the length wise direction of the knife, a variable-throw crank for reciprocating the carrier, along the guides, means for setting the throw of the crank to suit the length of knife to be operated upon, and an adjustable limiting stop on the knife-carriage so situated as to engage the end of the knife when pushed into the carriage thus to situate it lengthwise on the carriage, a rotary tool mounted so that its periphery bears against the side of the blade and at the edge thereof during the whole of its reciprocating movements with the carrier, and means operatively connecting the carrier and tool so that the tool continuously rotates against the blade as the arrier reciprocates upon its guides, themovable stop and the movable member for varying the throw of the crank being both provided with indicating means to show the proper setting for the stop for any particular selected throw of crank and vice versa, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In a knife-machine, the combination of, a reciprocating carrier havinggripping means to engage the blade of a knife by its sides, a crank-disk having a slot which extends from a point near the center toward the periphery, a crank-pinmounted to slide in this slot but held against endwise displacement therefrom, a second disk mounted at the side of the first and having in that face which is toward the first disk a camgroove which engages a projecting end of the crank-pin base, means for setting this cam-disk at any chosen angular position relatively to the slotted disk for varying the throw of the crank-pin, means operatively connecting the crank-pin and the carrier so 4 that it is reciprocated when the disk is ro- Gopics of this patent may be obtained (or tated, the throw of cording to the adjustment of the crank-pin, and an adjustable limiting-stop on the knifecarrier so situated as to engage the end of the knife to situate it lengthwise on the carriage, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH ALBERT HILL.

Witnesses CHAS. P. PBEssLEY, EMILE BERTRAND.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

the carrier varying ac-V 

